James h



(No Model.)

H. SHIELDS.

SWINGING CHAIR.

Patented May 5, 1885.

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. UNITEE STATE PATENT UFFICEO JAMES H. SHIELDS, E osron, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIe voE TO HIMSELF,

, JOHN WM. LAvEEY, AND TIMOTHY I F. SHEA, ALL OF SAME PLACE.

SWINGYING CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent No. 317,028, datedMay 5, 1885.

Application filed December 13, 1884. (No model.) Patented in Canada January 7, 1885, No. 20,836.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES H. SHIELDS, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, State ofMassachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Chairs, of which the following is a description sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, in which the figure is an isometrical perspective view of my improved chair.

My invention relates to a swinging chair more especially designed for the use of children; and it consists in a novel construction and arrangement of the parts, as hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed, by which a more desirable article of this character is produced than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood by all conversant with such matters from the followingexplanation.

In the drawing, A B may, for the purpose of more readily describing the invention, be said to represent two chairs having a common foot-board, C, said chairs being connected at the front by the side rails or guards, a; w m m, the chair A being suspended by the cords D and the chair B by the cords E.

The principal parts of the chair A consist of the seat H, back J, arms K, and guard L. The foot-board is bifurcated and extends backward under the seat, as shown at a a, and disposed on said board there are four verticallyarranged tubes, 73 Z, (one of the tubes, Z, not being shown,) on which the seat H, rests. Disposed immediately above the tubes 1; Z there are four tubes, z, the rear two of which stand on the seat H and the others on the guards m. The arms K rest on said last-named tubes,

the cords D passing, respectively, through said arms, the tubes 2, seat H, tubes t Z, and footboard A, and being secured beneath the same by the knots t. The back J is provided with screw-eyes or loops h, adapting it to slide on the rear cords, D, which pass through said eyes. The guard L is fitted to slide vertically on the inner cords, D, and disposed on said cords and resting on said guard there are two tubes, 1). These tubes are preferably fitted so closely to the cords as to require the exertion of considerable force to move them, thereby preventing the child from raising the guard and accidentally falling out of the chair. The

tubes 12 also serve as hand-pieces for the child to grasp, and when not fitted closely to the cords tend by their weight to keep the guard L in proper position.

In the chair B one of the tubes '5 is not shown; but its construction is substantially the same as that of the chair A, and it is not, therefore, deemed essential to more particularly describe it. The side guards m, which connect the chairs near the top, rest on the arms K, while the side guards m, which connect them near the center, rest on the seats H, the inner cords, D E, passing, respectively, through the ends of said guards. A rockershaft, N, supported in the screw-eyes P, and provided with the arms Q, is provided for suspending the chair, the eyes being screwed into a beam or other suitable support, and the shaft rocking in the eyes as the chair is swung. I do not, however, confine myself to supporting the chair in this special manner, as any other suitable means for that purpose may be employed.

In the use of my improvement it will be understood that a child is to be seated in each of the chairs A B, and this may be accomplished by raising the backs J or guards L, as preferred, to insert them. The bars as m serve not only as guards to prevent the children from falling out of the chair, but also to connect the chairs A B in such a manner as to keep them in proper position with respect to each other when the chair is swung.

It will be obvious that when the cords are released from their support the chair will tumble down and may be packed in a comparatively small space, the tubes not being permanently connected with the parts on which they rest or against which they abut.

I do not confine myself to bifurcating the foot-board O, as it may be constructed without as these may be omitted, if desired.

IOO

rest, suspensory cords passing, respectively, throughthe tubes, arms, seats, and foot-board, r 5 and side guards for connecting the chairs, substantially as set forth.

2. In a swinging chair substantially such as described, the foot-board O, bifurcated at either end, in combination with the seats H, 20 tubes i Z, and cords D E, substantiallyas described.

JAMES H. SHIELDS. Witnesses:

O. A. SHAW, L. J. W'l-IITE. 

